MPR Leadership Urges Acceleration of Indigenous Community Law Bill Passage
Jakarta — Deputy Chair of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has urged strengthening the existence of indigenous communities by promptly enacting the Indigenous Community Law Bill (RUU MHA) into law.
“The discussion of the RUU MHA has been ongoing for 16 years, yet an act has not yet been produced. The momentum of National Indigenous Communities Day must become a driver for all parties to strengthen commitment to recognising the existence of indigenous communities in our country,” she stated in a press release in Jakarta on Saturday.
Her remarks came in observance of National Indigenous Communities Day, which is commemorated every 13 March. According to Lestari, there is now no reason left to delay the discussion of the RUU MHA for it to be made into law.
“Data shows that 11.7 million hectares of indigenous territory has been lost, 162 indigenous people have been criminalised, and millions of hectares have been seized by corporations. This is not merely a statistic; this is a humanitarian emergency,” she stated.
According to Rerie, the affectionate nickname for Lestari, indigenous communities are the last bulwark of forest conservation and the maintenance of national food security.
“They protect forests and provide food without damaging nature, yet they are frequently criminalised and stripped of their ancestral lands. This situation cannot be allowed to continue,” said Rerie.
A member of Commission X of the House of Representatives, she hopes that the inclusion of the RUU MHA in the 2026 National Legislative Programme must be accompanied by concrete discussion steps.
She hopes that discussions on the RUU MHA will produce robust legal protection for the existence of indigenous communities in the country.
Current data shows that 50-70 million indigenous people are dispersed throughout Indonesia. The Indigenous Territory Registry Agency (BRWA) records the potential of mapped indigenous territories reaching 32.3 million hectares.
As of July 2025, the Indonesian government has only formally recognised approximately 333,687 to nearly 400,000 hectares of indigenous forest.
Meanwhile, 8.16 million hectares of indigenous territory overlap with mining and plantation concessions.
“The state must be present for all its citizens, including indigenous communities. This is a constitutional mandate. They have waited long enough. This year must be the year of recognition, not a year of prolonged waiting,” she concluded.